Category: Rail Views Spring 2026

Getting better steadily

Here are our line’s station footfall statistics up to Spring 2025, published just before our pre-Christmas issue. Good to note just about all continue to increase, taking 2024-5 as comparison. Final column of table shows whether total is now greater than (immediately) pre-Covid. You can study the results yourself. Note “+++” values for a number of stations indicating that passenger numbers now exceed pre-pandemic. Rochdale, Todmorden, Hebden Bg, Sowerby Bg, and Low Moor fall into that category. Todmorden as well as Hebden Bridge has been doing well. Mytholmroyd, Halifax, and Brighouse have still to catch up. Note also that traditional commuting destinations such as Manchester Victoria, Leeds and the two Bradford stations are not growing as fast as medium and smaller size places. But note Chester, Blackpool, Preston, Accrington, Burnley and York are all in the “+++” category. Blackburn, like Halifax, lags slightly in its recovery. Both towns surely have potential to attract more visitors by rail: Blackburn’s cathedral and market; Halifax with its own market regenerated and its station just a quarter of mile from the unarguably unique Piece Hall. ORR (Office of Road and Rail) station footfall figures Calder Valley line stations plus extras with at least hourly CV trains (years are April to March), numbers from ORR data rounded to nearest 1000 (per year). Big thanks to Richard Lysons getting most of this data together.

Rail can help revive our not so big towns too! Brighouse was fastest growing station on our line, percentage-wise, up to middle of last decade. Recently it has had more mixed results, due in part to services being diverted, or replaced by buses when TransPennine Express services are diverted. At present trains are replaced by buses Brighouse to Huddersfield, though that does not affect the above figures. On the other hand the station has benefited from extra trains to good places when TPEs call. So Brighouse needs a better service, as does Sowerby Bridge. Both stations serve as many potential passengers as Hebden Bridge but have about half the service level. Sowerby Bg needs all the trains that at present run through non-stop to call, and Brighouse – its line soon also to serve Elland – just needs more trains. Mytholmroyd is another matter, for another issue of this newsletter!

Header Image: “Halifax Station” by AdamKR is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Elland will happen – soon!

It will be 29 years late. Brighouse opened in 2000, but good news is Elland station will happen soon following approval by West Yorkshire Combined Authority. A batch of funding should get designs finalised in the coming months, work on the station to start early in 2027. Calderdale will oversee the access package including new bridges over river and canal for pedestrians and cyclists, active travellers Elland and Greetland, with work to start this June (Elland Access Package | Calderdale Next Chapter). The station itself will be near Lowfields Business Park. Trains will serve Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford and Manchester, bringing in visitors and businesses adding to the local economy. WYCA’s picture shows the complex design: lifts, ramps and stairs reach the elevated platforms. Parking is planned for 116 cars, with cycle spaces, EV charging points, and a new toucan (pedestrian + cycle) road crossing. Quickest time Elland to Leeds will be about 35 min – which could be cut if the railway were to improve the service, as Hadrag would like, with more, faster trains. The station will also be served by Bradford-Huddersfield trains. Hadrag also wants Bradford-Sheffield trains (see back page). We are not yet sure whether Grand Central’s London trains will serve Elland. Good if they do. Cost of the station opening is now estimated at £70M including the access package. Wow!